Men's, women's soccer blossoms at USC Sumter

USC Sumter hasn't necessarily been known as a soccer school, but this fall might change that.

Both the men's and women's programs had some of the best seasons in their history. The men traveled to Florida this weekend to take part in the Southeast District Tournament after claiming the Region 10 title in both the regular season and region tournament. The USC Sumter women, meanwhile, finished as region runners-up as they turned the program around after winning just one game a year ago.

The impressive seasons from both teams have one thing in common, a new head coach. Maxi Rocco recruited nearly an entire new roster in his first season as head coach, while Jayson Stewart brought his own batch of fresh faces in his first season. In both circumstances, the programs have gotten a major boost from the new man in charge.

MEN DOMINATE

Rocco is quick to share the credit for the incredible fall the Fire Ants are putting together. He thanked his assistant, Geronimo Salazar, as well as his three captains, Lautaro Guerra, Obadiah Jarrah and Ignacio "Nacho" Gonzalez, for helping to establish a winning culture. That started with bringing in a new cast of characters, as Rocco recruited 26 new players to add to the team.

"I was 100% sure we could flip the program and compete nationally in the first year," Rocco said, noting his background as a professional player and coach in Argentina before serving as a coach at multiple levels in the States. "Everything is about the mentality and the way we want to do things. And the school always supports us.

"That hard work is paying off for everybody."

It didn't take long for Rocco to realize this season had the chance to be special. The Fire Ants won their first three matches comfortably before a 1-0 loss to Richard Bland College and a 0-0 tie with USC Lancaster. Since then, USC Sumter hasn't lost. The only game that didn't end with a victory was another scoreless tie with USC Lancaster. USC Sumter carried an 11-1-2 record into the Region 10 tournament last weekend.

"It was from the go," Rocco said of when he realized this team could be special. "I told the guys I want to win a national title in the first season. I'm from Argentina; soccer is my life. My son is the first thing, then it's soccer. When we got the chance, I was 100% sure it was going to be the way we wanted to do it."

Rocco's confidence came from the players he recruited. He was very particular with the 26 freshmen he brought in. He was focused on having the right players on and off the field.

"We wanted good, hardworking people that we could add to our locker room, not problems," he said. "We've got a great group of kids. Everyone is a good person, everyone gets a long, we do community service. From Day 1, they knew we were coming in to win everything. We didn't lose a game in our region because of the way we work and the quality people we brought into the program."

USC Sumter has been dominant defensively this season. They've only allowed more than one goal just twice this season, a 3-2 win in a rematch with Richard Bland College and once in the Region 10 tournament. Juan Jose Montoya has been lights out in goal with just seven goals allowed and 25 saves behind an excellent defense.

Offensively, Luis Peralta and Yunus Can have led the way with 11 and eight goals, respectively. Ciro Ottado added six goals, while Mateus Garcia leads the team with five assists to go with two goals.

But the season hasn't been perfect. After a nearly spotless regular season, USC Sumter trailed USC Union 2-0 at halftime to open the Region 10 tournament, but they battled back with three second-half goals from Ottado, Lucas Barros and Lorenzo Rodofili to pull out the win.

"The semifinal was chaotic," Rocco said. "We got a red card, and we were losing 2-0 in the first half. Losing to the four seed as the No. 1, all of the emotions, everything goes south. It made me very proud that the boys represented the school in a great way. You wouldn't even know we had one less player because everyone gave their heart for the team."

USC Sumter then beat USC Lancaster, the only team they hadn't beaten this fall. The Fire Ants got goals from Esteban Ramos and Ottado to pull out a 2-0 win to advance to this weekend's district tournament.

Rocco is confident this season is just the beginning. The Fire Ants plan to expand the soccer facilities, which he plans to use as a recruiting tool. Rocco intends to bring in enough players to start a second squad, which can help keep the main roster sharp as they seek to compete for national titles.

"Now we have a better reputation," Rocco said. "Everything I said before is now true, and we're going to have more players come to Sumter."

WOMEN TURN THINGS AROUND

When Stewart took over the women's program at USC Sumter, he needed to solidify the foundation. He took a program that won one game and had some returning talent and saw that number grow to 4-5.

"Coming into it, I knew they had a rough season last year. I was able to see some of the talent they had through watching film, and I thought the talent was better than what they showed," Stewart said. "My biggest thing coming in was trying to get them to understand the game a little better and being able to maximize the talent they had, and they did that."

During the regular season, USC Sumter earned a pair of wins over Southwest Virginia by scores of 4-1 and 1-0. They also took down Louisburg College 3-2 before heading into the Region 10 tournament, where they beat Southwest Virginia once again 3-1. In that win, they got a pair of goals from Briza Villagrana and another goal from Karely Gonzalez.

"I think the biggest thing was showing that we're still moving forward," Stewart said of winning four games, including a victory in the region tournament. "Being able to win (in the region tournament) and solidify the second spot was definitely huge because our school had never done that. Getting that plaque helps solidify what I'm telling recruits for next year and returners, that we are moving in the right direction."

Villagrana led the offense with four goals and an assist, while Janna Lindler added two goals. Both were returning sophomores for the Fire Ants. Gonzalez and Neele Aakerlund, a freshman midfielder from Germany, also saw some time on the back line on defense when called upon. Both helped set the tone for USC Sumter across the pitch.

The Fire Ants had to shuffle through a couple of goalkeepers, as sophomore Milly Vargas, freshman Alyssa Robinson and freshman Luz Reyes, a walk-on from Crestwood, all spent time in net. Pessy Losah and Makariya Rouse were the main outside backers to lead the transition from defense to offense, while Rebecca Pasch was the last line of defense on the back end.

After a strong first season, Stewart is looking forward to hitting the recruiting trail to add to a solid group. Most of the roster was in place when Stewart took the job, though he made some additions after joining late in the spring. Now he has the chance to shape the new look of the program going forward.

"I'm really excited. I've been recruiting since late July since I realized there were no more seniors left to bring in for this season," Stewart said. "I've got a good bunch that I'm planning to reach out to that I want to be a Fire Ant next year. If I'm able to get a good portion of the ones I'm looking at, I think we can definitely challenge Lancaster next year because I feel like we held our own when we were healthy."